Will Ocean Fertilization Work?

P. W. Boyd is at the Centre of Physical and Chemical Oceanography, National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand. E-mail: p.boyd{at}niwa.co.nz

P. W. Boyd is at the Centre of Physical and Chemical Oceanography, National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand. E-mail: p.boyd@niwa.co.nz

Summary

Iron fertilization of the ocean is widely discussed as a possible strategy for extracting COfrom the atmosphere. In their Perspective,
Buesseler and Boyd
analyze the results from recent fertilization experiments in the Southern Ocean. They conclude that sequestration of 30% of the carbon released annually as a result of human activities would require a region more than an order of magnitude larger than the entire area of the Southern Ocean. Iron fertilization may not be a commercially attractive option if impacts on sequestration are as low as observed to date.